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Trump's $10 Billion Lawsuit MELTDOWN Instantly FAILS - Legal AF
Attorneys Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian break down the latest entry in what Brian calls "TALC: Trump Always Loses Cases." A federal judge in Florida dismissed Trump's defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch, News Corp, Dow Jones, and the individual reporters who wrote a story about a sexually suggestive birthday card allegedly bearing Trump's signature in a leather-bound album compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell for Jeffrey Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003.
U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles ruled that Trump's complaint "comes nowhere close" to meeting the actual malice standard required for public figures under New York Times v. Sullivan. The judge pointed out that the Journal contacted Trump, the DOJ, and the FBI for comment before publishing and included Trump's denial in the article — which is the opposite of reckless disregard for the truth.
Trump's legal argument boiled down to: I told them it was fake before they published it, so that's malice. The court said that's not even in the same universe as the legal standard. Brian and Shant note the irony that Trump sued the newspaper owned by his ally Rupert Murdoch — the same company that owns Fox "News" — for $10 billion, a number with no legal basis. The judge gave Trump two weeks to amend, but warned that attorney fees could be on the table if the refiled complaint is equally deficient. - 04/21/2026.